The Doctor, in the TARDIS, with Captain Jack
by BBC Addict
Summary: Doctor Who, AU. Ten says goodbye to Rose. What happens after that? Consider it a series of mini-adventures. Jack is the companion, NON-slash. I'm blatantly ignoring canon; this is *my* DW universe.
1. 1

"I'm sorry, Rose." Feeling a tiny stab of guilt, he continued, "It's better for you this way. New new Doctor and all that." He tried to cover how uncomfortable he felt with an unconvincing smile.

Tears in her eyes, Rose fled the console room. _How could the man she had just saved have changed so much? His face wasn't the only thing that was different. The Doctor had asked her to travel with him; in fact, he'd come back for her even after she said no. Now he was telling her she should go back home._

After Rose left, the Doctor sat down heavily on the seat facing the controls. He did feel badly about having to kick Rose out of the TARDIS, but he didn't feel he had any other choice. As a Time Lord, he could see everything that could be in regard to Rose, and he didn't like the possibilities he was seeing. She would become possessive of him and the TARDIS and harbor jealousy toward everyone else who traveled with him, past or present. No human _child_ had the right to keep a Time Lord and a TARDIS to herself.

Sighing, he stood. "Once we drop Rose home, there's something I better check up on back on Satellite 5. Then, old girl, you and I are going to have a long, proper holiday."

The TARDIS seemed to hum happily.

Rose heard the familiar wheezing followed by a resounding thud, which signaled that the TARDIS had materialized. She slowly reached for her pack and swung it onto her shoulder. She walked through the corridors, saying goodbye to the ship that been her home for the past three years. Finally, she was back in the console room. She walked past the Doctor to the doors. She turned to him, fighting to keep from crying again. "I love you," she said, her voice breaking. "I thought we were…I thought you loved me, too."

"I used to, Rose."

Rose reached for the key that hung on a chain around her neck. She pulled it off and laid it on the long brown coat that hung on the crook of the TARDIS door support beam. "Goodbye, Doctor," she said. She turned and left.

"Goodbye," the Doctor said, after Rose had disappeared from view. He stood silently musing for a few moments. Suddenly he launched into action, flipping switches, turning dials, and pressing buttons. After adding a whack with the rubber mallet for good measure, he relaxed to enjoy the ride back to Satellite 5. He hadn't seen it yet, not with these eyes.

After the TARDIS materialized, the Doctor didn't bother to check the scanners. He was fairly certain that there were only two outcomes he needed to be on the lookout for. He was seized by a whim and snapped his fingers. He was startled when the TARDIS doors opened. He poked his head out, thinking maybe something outside had pushed against them, but he didn't see anything. He snapped again and this time, the doors closed. With the third snap, they opened. After exiting, he snapped yet again, closing the doors. He then tried to push them open. They remained stubbornly shut. _After all these years, you're still full of surprises, aren't you? _

"DOCTOR! DOCTOR!" The Doctor was distracted by a man yelling at the top of his lungs. Soon, he saw the man sprinting toward him. He watched the man run until he halted abruptly, a confused look on his face.

"So, you're alive, Jack."

"Doctor?" Jack questioned, glancing back and forth between the thin man in the brown suit and the familiar blue box.

"That's my name, don't wear it out!" He stopped. "Remind me never to do that again. I hate regenerating. You never know what you're going to end up with. I was really hoping for ginger; maybe next time."

Jack somehow managed to glare at the Doctor's babbling while still looking a bit confused. "Explain this to me, Doc. One second I'm nobly sacrificing myself in front of a herd of Daleks and the next I'm on the floor, gasping for air surrounded by dust, not a Dalek in sight."

"Rose."

"What?"

"Rose brought you back. After I sent her home, she managed to absorb the time vortex and bring the TARDIS back here. She turned the Daleks to dust and resurrected you."

"Where is she?"

"I sent her home, for good this time."

"Why?"

"For so many reasons, Jack." He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "Come on. Where do you want me to drop you?"

"Do I have to-" Jack was cut off. The Doctor turned and saw Jack collapse to the ground. He looked around frantically and finally spotted a man lurking behind a pile of crates. He narrowed his eyes and aimed his gun, this time at the Doctor. The Doctor gritted his teeth and calmly reached into his pocket. He pointed the object at the man and pressed a button. It emitted a high pitched whistling noise. The man cried out and put his hands over his ears, dropping his gun.

"Make it stop!" he begged.

The Doctor strode toward the man, not releasing the button on the sonic screwdriver. "Why did you shoot him?" he demanded.

"I dunno! I dunno!" the man cried.

The Doctor slowly lowered the sonic. "Next time, you'd better think before you shoot. Or you'll find yourself dealing with someone who might want revenge."

The Doctor returned to where Jack lay sprawled on the floor. He flicked the sonic over him a few times, then sat back, waiting.

Soon enough, Jack gasped and sat up. "I just got shot," he said.

"It looks like when Rose brought you back, she brought you back for good."

"Are you still gonna kick me out like you did her?"

"Nah," he replied. "You're an impossible thing, Jack. You're a fixed point in time now. I'd rather have you where I can keep an eye on you rather than letting you run around the universe creating paradoxes meeting yourself." Noticing the twinkle in Jack's eye and the grin on his face, the Doctor continued, "Well, you know that's the only man you're going to be happy with."

"This new regeneration of yours, it's kinda cheeky," Jack quipped.

"Come on, Captain. I've promised the TARDIS a holiday. Who knows where she'll take us."

Jack grabbed the Doctor's hand, pulling himself up. "What are we waiting for? The universe is waiting!"


	2. 2

Jack found the Doctor in the TARDIS kitchen. Jack thought the Time Lords must have enjoyed Star Trek because rather than a stove, refrigerator, and microwave, the kitchen contained a replicator, complete with the standard computer voice. He had to say it, just once. "Tea, Earl Gray, hot."

Tentatively sipping his tea, he joined the Doctor at the table. The Doctor glanced at him and gave the slightest nod of acknowledgement. Jack made a face and said, "Eh, what's up, Doc?"

"Don't. Just don't," the Doctor replied, but his mood had lightened. "I'm the only one allowed to use different accents." He glanced at Jack and continued, "If we ever land in Scotland I might let you try one, though."

"So what had you thinking deep, depressing, un-Doctor-like thoughts?"

"Oi!" he retorted. "I frequently have deep depressing thoughts. I'm just usually better at hiding them. Or maybe nobody's ever bothered trying to find out. They don't want to spoil the magic by hearing about reality." He lapsed back into silence.

"All right, Doc. Out with it."

The Doctor sighed. "One day I think you'll understand a little, Jack. You can't die now. You'll know how it feels to watch countless people enter and disappear from your life. You'll watch them grow old, die, while you just walk away. The universe loses a bit of its wonder after 900 years. Humans like to say 'with age comes experience.' I've had lots of experience, but I keep doing the same thing. I'll knock about on my own for a bit, vowing that I don't want another companion because I'll just lose him or her like all the others. Eventually, I can't stand being alone anymore and pick up someone new and it starts all over again. They leave, they always leave. Because they should, or because they find someone else. And some of them forget me. And some of them I leave behind."

Jack, for once, couldn't joke his way out of the situation. He thought about the Doctor and all his companions, then he began thinking about what might happen to him. "Well, I'll never leave you, Doctor. Not forever. I'll always be around, somewhere."

The Doctor gave a slight chuckle. "Yes, Jack, I suppose you will."

"Since you seem to be in a mood for strolling down memory lane today, just how many people _have _you traveled with, Doctor?"

"I can show you," he said. "In the library."

The Doctor and Jack sat on the floor in the library, a large scrapbook open between them.

"I never figured you to be a scrapper," Jack said.

"I didn't make this," the Doctor defended himself. "I stole it in the future from the archives on Gallifrey."

Each page had as a name as a heading and featured a large headshot. Jack flipped through the pages, reading a name here and there:

_Susan Foreman_

_Ian Chesterton _

_Barbara Wright_

_Jamie McCrimmon_

_Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart_

_Sarah Jane Smith_

_Romana_

_Captain Jack Harkness_

"The people in there are just the ones who were with me for awhile," the Doctor said. "There have been, and will be, so many more."

"Why are all these pages after me blank?"

The Doctor smiled. "The TARDIS blocks them. She doesn't want me to know too much about my future. That sort of knowledge can seriously screw up the universe."

"I suppose. Tell me about this one, the Brigadier." Jack studied the handsome face. "I thought you didn't like soldiers."

"Ah, the Brigadier. He was a very special man. He saw more of my regenerations than anyone else and saved the world more times than anyone else, except me, of course."

* * *

Mickey sat across from Rose, his chin resting on his hand. He had a glazed look in his eyes and he only moved to give an absent yes or to nod his head. Rose had been complaining about the Doctor for weeks now. At first, he had heatedly joined in abusing the Doctor, but his enthusiasm had waned. It was becoming obvious that he and Rose weren't going to be able to be a couple again. Mickey might be a tad slow, but he wasn't completely stupid. After all, Rose had been traveling with the Doctor for three years. She'd changed a great deal, but Mickey was still very much the same. He'd never stopped caring about Rose and had come running to meet her every time she came home. Tonight, as they sat eating pizza, Mickey thought about the day that he and Rose had met the madman with a box. Rose had put him through a lot, she'd put her mum through a lot, and she didn't have a thought for either of them. All she could do was moan about how the Doctor had left her behind after everything she'd done for him.

"Rose, shut up."

Rose stopped mid-sentence and stared at Mickey. "What?"

"I said shut up. You've done nothing but talk about the Doctor for weeks. Ever since you got back. We don't have conversations, Rose. When we're together, I sit here and listen to you complain and cry. You never even bothered to ask me how I've been or what I've been doing. You only think about yourself. Well, I've had it. It's time I quit waiting around for you, Rose, because you're not coming back." Mickey pushed his chair back and stood. He deliberately dropped a few pounds on the table, then turned and walked out of the restaurant.

Rose stared after him, stunned. Mickey had never turned on her before. Sure, he'd gotten upset with her a few times over her travels with the Doctor, but he'd always come back when she asked him. Somehow, she sensed this time was different.

Across the dining room in a dark corner, a man sat in a booth, watching Rose. He noted the lost look on her face after her friend left. He smiled inwardly. The fight would work in his favor.

**EDIT: Moved the page break to where it made sense, not randomly in the middle of Rose/Mickey. I need to proofread better.**


	3. 3

After enjoying a week on Trakkor 7, the Doctor and Jack returned to the TARDIS.

"I didn't see you all week, Jack. What were you up to?"

Jack just smiled. "You don't want to know."

"You're probably right. Where to next? The Aqua Sands of Marina Alpha? The Grottoes of Kungtau? Or how about the Majarassic-" The Doctor was cut off by a series of alarms going off. He dashed around the console pushing various buttons until a radar-like image came up on the screen. He pulled it right up to his face. "What?" he said.

"What?" said Jack.

"How about we set the controls to random and get out of here." He flipped a switched, turned a knob, gave a few whacks with the mallet, and pulled a lever. "Come on, old girl!" The TARDIS groaned and shuddered, throwing Jack and the Doctor around like rag dolls. A deep, booming bell sounded in the distance. "That's not good!" the Doctor yelled. The interior lights changed from a cheery yellow-orange to mauve.

"Why are the lights mauve?"

"Mauve means danger!"

"I thought that was red!"

"Don't be silly. Red's too camp."

The TARDIS lurched again, sending Jack and the Doctor to the other side of the control platform.

"Can't you do something, Doctor?" Jack yelled across at him.

"No, this is panic mode. It keeps anyone from following our trail. Of course, if everything doesn't go just right, there might not be a trail for anyone to follow…"

"Thanks, Doc. That's just great. Who are we running from anyway?"

The Doctor ignored the question and babbled on about the mechanics and physics of TARDIS panic mode. Jack rolled his eyes and tuned the Doctor out. He focused on holding tight to the railing so that if the TARDIS decided to jerk around again, he wouldn't go flying. He didn't intend to bruise up his beautiful face.

With a wheeze and thud, the TARDIS stilled. Jack and the Doctor stood, shakily.

"So where did we end up, Doc?"

The Doctor glanced quickly at a series of indicators and then the scanner. "2189. Earth. London." He frowned and glared briefly at the nearest control panel. "_This_ isn't random at all, you sneak."

The TARDIS merely began switching off lights.

"Oh, alright, have it your way," the Doctor said, lightly smacking the console. "Come on, Jack. We're being booted out. The TARDIS needs a few hours undisturbed to recover."

"You've been here before, I take it?"

"Yeah. I was just a kid then. A kid in an 80-year-old's body." The Doctor shook his head. "It's been hundreds of years since I was here, about twenty years ago."

_Ahhh, the complexities of relative time,_ thought Jack.

"Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff," the Doctor concluded.

"I forget that you can hear me. Did you hear _that_, Doc?"

"Language, Captain." The Doctor stepped outside, followed by Jack. He gave Jack a brief history of the encounter with the Daleks as they walked.

"Why exactly did the TARDIS bring us here?" Jack asked after the Doctor had finished.

The Doctor stopped in his tracks. "Her." He pointed at an attractive dark haired woman across the street. She had a basket over her arm and was chatting with a group of women. Jack could just make out a few words; apparently they were comparing their various children.

The Doctor pulled Jack up against a rough brick building. They were concealed behind a tree so that they could still see the women but the women wouldn't be able to see them.

To Jack it seemed like hours before a tall man approached the group. He took 'her' arm and they began walking away. Jack felt a tug on his sleeve and the Doctor mouthed 'come on'. They tried to look inconspicuous as they followed the couple. It became more and more difficult to do. For one thing, it was very unusual to see two men with long, flowing coats walking down the street. For another, the couple was heading out of town and the number of people around them steadily decreased.

Jack was absorbed studying the buildings. The Doctor was absorbed with…something. They both stopped abruptly and looked down into the face of the dark-haired woman. "I don't recognize you. Why are you following us?"

"Susan," the Doctor breathed. "You've hardly changed at all."

Susan narrowed her eyes at the young, spiky-haired man before her. "How do you know my name?"

"I said I would come back," he replied. "One day, I'd come back. Now here I am."

Disbelief spread across Susan's face. "Grandfather?" she whispered.

"It's me," he said quietly. He hesitantly moved in a bit closer.

"Grandfather!" Susan exclaimed, closing the gap and giving him a big hug.

"Grandfather?" Jack asked, cocking his eyebrow.

"Grandfather?" echoed Susan's companion.

"David! How are you?" the Doctor asked excitedly, giving David's hand a vigorous shake.

"Oh, I'm fine. Are you really the Doctor?" he asked.

"The one and only. I've just regenerated a few times. Well, I say a few…nine, actually."

"I'm Captain Jack Harkness, by the way," Jack interjected. It was unclear whether he was eyeing Susan or David, but David reacted defensively, grabbing Susan's hand and pulling her just a little closer to his side.

"Jack," the Doctor said in a warning tone. "The entire universe is fair game, but my grandchildren are off-limits."

"I was just saying hello."

"Right," the Doctor replied, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, Grandfather, we have so much to talk about. Can you come back with us?"

The Doctor made a show of checking his watch. "I think we can spare a few hours, don't you, Jack?"

"Whatever you say, Doc."

"Well, come on then. I have one question I've been dying to ask you, Grandfather. Why did you leave me behind with only one shoe?"

**EDIT: More proofreading, just fixed a few minor typos. I should really do this ahead of time.**


	4. 4

Jack stood on the porch of the Campbells' farmhouse. He watched the Doctor walk eagerly around the farm with Susan by his side following David as he gave them the grand tour. Jack smiled. He'd never seen the Doctor so relaxed and happy. All the cares were gone from his face. Jack thought it was very amusing that the Doctor was not the know-it-all for once. He might know every planet in every galaxy and recite without hesitation their complete histories, but he couldn't tell pesticide from plant food or find his way through a tall field. Though Jack had been invited to walk the farm with the others, he had declined. He didn't want to intrude on the Doctor's time with his family. Jack actually found it rather hard to believe that he was meeting the Doctor's family since he had always been incredibly reluctant to mention them before. He never said more than a sentence when he did talk about them.

Several hours later, the Doctor, Susan, and David returned. They found Jack stretched out on the slope in front of the house. "You have a beautiful place here," Jack remarked.

"Thank you," Susan replied, sitting down as well. She gently pulled David down next to her. "We've worked so hard to get here." She sighed and leaned back into David's arms. "I love it here. I _belong_ here. I've never belonged anywhere before."

The Doctor just smiled at the pair. "So you're not upset that I locked you out and left you here, then?"

Susan and David both shook their heads. "It was the best thing you've ever done for me, Grandfather. It took me awhile to adjust to staying in one place, though."

David chimed in. "She drove me mad the first few months, always wanting to go explore everywhere all the time. And now that we could take the time to go away and explore, she only wants to stay here!" He lightly kissed the top of her head.

As the sun set, the chill forced the group to retreat to the cozy kitchen. Susan made tea and they sat around the table, sipping from the steaming mugs. Jack drank in the warm, friendly atmosphere. He'd never had this kind of time as a child and he doubted he would ever have a family of his own. Life as a Time Agent, not to mention as someone who traveled with the Doctor and who couldn't die, did tend to make settling down a bit difficult.

"So, Captain," David began, "how did you meet the Doctor?"

Jack put down his mug. "I conned him into chasing a piece of space junk to Earth during WWII. And by bringing it to Earth I nearly turned the human race into gas-mask-head zombies. I wound up being seconds away from death when the Doctor and Rose rescued me with the TARDIS while they were dancing. We bummed around the universe for a few months and then we wound up on a space station. We were up against the Daleks facing certain death, either by Dalek or by delta wave. I was exterminated, and then I woke up, finding that the Doctor and Rose had abandoned me. A few hours later, the TARDIS comes back and this new Doctor picks me up. Since then, we've been living the old TARDIS life, going where she takes us and running away. And it's only been a week."

"Wait," said Susan. "You were exterminated by the Daleks, and you woke up?"

Jack looked to the Doctor, who then took over. "I'd sent Rose home in the TARDIS, you see, to keep her safe. She managed to open the cover and absorbed the time vortex, bringing the TARDIS back. She then resurrected Jack, permanently, and turned all the Daleks into dust. But humans aren't meant to look into the vortex, let alone absorb it, so she was dying. I absorbed it from her and put it back into the TARDIS, but doing so caused me to regenerate into what you see now. Then I took Rose home again, left her there, and went back to fetch Jack. He needs some help adjusting to the whole immortality thing."

"I guess any of my stories would seem rather dull by comparison," Susan said.

"Never," the Doctor replied. "If nothing else, it's quite amusing to tell how we'd land somewhere new and you'd spend a good bit of the time hiding behind Ian or Barbara or getting yourself into trouble or screaming."

Susan looked sheepish. "I suppose I did. You'd think after years of space travel I wouldn't have been so afraid or silly."

"Look on the bright side, my dear. You were brave enough to do something I'm not brave enough to do. You chose to stay in one place, to have a normal life, a family." The Doctor took Susan's hand and held it to his lips. "I'm proud of you, Susan."

The next day, the Doctor brought Susan and David for a tour of the new TARDIS. As they approached the door, the Doctor asked, "Would you like to do the honors, Susan?"

Susan looked down at the ground, embarrassed. "I…I dropped the key, Grandfather, right as you were leaving. When I finally came back to look for it, it was gone."

"Oh. Well, don't worry about that. Watch this!" The Doctor help up his hand dramatically and snapped his fingers. Susan gasped as the doors swung open. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"How did you do it, Grandfather?"

"I actually have no idea," he replied. "Why don't you try?"

Susan snapped her fingers, but the doors didn't react.

"Hmmm," the Doctor said. "Good to know that it doesn't work for just anyone. Well, what are you waiting for? Come on!" He dashed inside. "What do you think?" he asked, lifting his arms up and turning in a circle.

David stood bewildered. He gathered his wits enough to say, "It's-"

"Bigger on the inside," the Doctor finished. "I know. I should get a sign or something."

Susan poked around, softly touching the unfamiliar console. The TARDIS lit up, humming cheerfully.

"I'm glad to see you again, too," Susan said. "Even though you've changed. Even though you've _both _changed."

Several hours later, they all met back outside the TARDIS. "You're leaving now, aren't you?" Susan asked.

"Yeah. You know me, can't stay anywhere too long. Too much out there to see."

Susan smiled. "I know." She pulled the Doctor away from the others and stood on tiptoe to whisper into his ear. The Doctor nodded.

"Well, goodbye, Captain," David said, shaking Jack's hand.

"Take care, both of you," Jack replied.

"It was wonderful to see you again, my boy," the Doctor said with a chuckle. David held out his hand, but the Doctor ignored it, opting instead for a bear hug. "Goodbye, Doctor."

Susan gave Jack a kiss on the cheek. "Keep on an eye him."

Jack saluted. "Yes, ma'am."

"Goodbye, Grandfather."

"Goodbye, Susan." They hugged again and finally tore themselves apart.

Jack and the Doctor waved once more, then disappeared into the TARDIS. Susan and David watched as it disappeared, then slowly walked hand-in-hand back to their farm.

* * *

Rose had had enough. "Why are you following me?" she yelled at the man.

"Miss Tyler, I have an offer for you." He pulled out a badge. "I'm Trevor Philips, from Smith Industries."

"Yeah?" said Rose. "Because that's psychic paper. It's blank."

"Very good, Miss Tyler. I think my boss would like to meet you." He help up something remarkably similar to a sonic screwdriver. He clicked a button and Rose felt herself slowly crumple to the ground and lose consciousness as she was hauled up into a waiting car.

**EDIT: More proofreading.**


	5. 5

Jack woke up as he was thrown across his room. _This is really getting old_, he thought. He felt the impact as he bounced off the wall and landed in a heap on the floor. _More bruises. Great._ He managed to stand up and ran outside, taking the TARDIS' shortcut to the control room.

"What's going on, Doctor?"

Jack was just in time to see a figure disappear in the haze that was filling the room. "Doctor!" he yelled.

"Now, now, don't fuss. I'm here." A short man with shaggy dark hair and a rumpled coat that looked two sizes too big for him appeared. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his face. "Now then. Let's see how we're doing." He stopped and stared at Jack. "Now, just a moment. Who are you? Where's Jamie?"

* * *

The Doctor stumbled and fell, coughing. He waved his hand, trying to clear the haze so he could see his surroundings.

"Doctor? Where are ya?"

The Doctor nearly choked. He recognized that voice. "Jamie?"

"Aye. I'm here."

The Doctor struggled to his feet. He put his hands out in front of him and attempted to find the console. "Just give me two ticks and I'll have this fog cleared out of here and maybe we can figure out what's going on." He finally found the console. He drew back his hand suddenly. The console felt strange, but he seemed to recognize it. Almost by accident, his fingers found the control that vented the control room.

As the room cleared, Jamie approached the Doctor. "What happened?" He finally got close enough to see the Doctor. "You're not the Doctor. Who are ya and what are ya doin' in here?"

The Doctor couldn't help but smile. "Jamie McCrimmon. I can't believe it."

"How do ya know my name?" Jamie demanded.

"I know this will sound crazy, but I'm the Doctor."

"No you're not."

"Look, we haven't got time for this. I'm the Doctor, you're Jamie, this is the TARDIS, we're traveling through time and space, and we spend more time getting out of trouble than anything else."

"Ya got that right," Jamie snorted. "Well, only the Doctor can fly this contraption, so if you're him, prove it."

"Alright, I will." With that, the Doctor began pushing buttons on the console. He muttered to himself as he did so. "Now, then, old girl, we have to get reacquainted. I haven't seen you like this for a few hundred years. This one, I think." He pushed one final button and grinned at Jamie. "Allons-y!"

* * *

Jack and the strange man eyed each other suspiciously. Suddenly, the man turned his head. "What have you done to my TARDIS?" he burst out.

"What do you mean?"

"It's blue. And orange. And metal."

"Look, crazy man, I haven't done anything to the TARDIS. And I don't know any Jamie." Jack frowned. The name did ring a bell… "Wait. In the scrapbook, Jamie McCrimmon was someone that used to travel with the Doctor."

"Used to travel with the Doctor? He still does."

"Not with my Doctor," Jack replied. "I travel with the Doctor now. You must be a past Doctor."

They were both distracted by a scraping noise that grew louder and louder until it became an unbearable shriek.

"Can you do something, Doctor?" Jack yelled as he covered his ears.

"I…I don't know. This console is completely foreign to me. Nothing is where it's supposed to be!"

Jack watched in surprise as the TARDIS console rearranged itself. The center column remained unchanged but all the panels surrounding it became white and displayed orderly rows of buttons and switches and levers rather than the normal jumbled mess.

"Ah! That's more like it!" The Doctor now seemed in his element. He made a few adjustments and the shrieking died out. "I believe that's done it."

Just then, the entire TARDIS shook from an impact. The familiar cloister bell sounded in the distance.

"What? _What? _What." Jack heard a familiar voice express confusion as the Doctor and Jamie were dumped onto the grating. Quickly the Doctor stood up and dusted himself off. "Well that was an experience. Ok, t-," he restrained himself from saying 'team.' He cleared his throat and began again. "Jamie, Jack, Jack, Jamie." He then pointed at the other Doctor and said, "Doctor." He pointed at himself and again said, "Doctor. But for ease of communication, I suggest we call him Two and me Ten."

"Ten?" the Second Doctor burst out. "Oh my giddy aunt! What on earth have I been up to that I've used my regenerations so quickly? You're only about 900."

"No time," Ten replied. He made a dash toward the console but stopped in his tracks. "What have you done to my TARDIS?" He sighed with relief as the control panels assumed their familiar jumbled appearance. "Jamie, press this and this. Jack, hold this here and hit that when I say. Doctor Two, everything you need is here…ish," he finished as he gestured in a wide circular motion. He pulled the scanner down to his face with one hand and with the other pulled out his sonic screwdriver. He pointed it at the place he and Jamie had fallen out of and pressed the button. "There, just put the other TARDIS away for safekeeping."

"Now, see here, you can't do that to my ship!"

"Sorry, Doctor Two, but you know as well as I that the TARDIS wouldn't just collide with itself or cause you and I to switch places. She's crossed her own path a few times in the past but nothing like this has ever happened before. We need to find out what caused it, fix it, and make sure it won't happen again." Ten studied the image on the scanner. He pressed the rewind button and squinted in concentration. "Aha! There it is. A ship caused the collision." He pointed to a beam of light aimed at Two's TARDIS. "It must have been able to change your path just enough to cause your TARDIS to hit mine." He paused the recording and studied the ship. "I've never seen a ship like this before. "

Two studied the image as well. "I'm afraid I can't identify it either."

Jack walked over to the scanner and looked as well. The ship looked familiar, but why? As he tried to concentrate, he felt a sharp pain in his head and he cried out.

"Jack? Are you alright?" Ten asked.

"I feel like I recognize that ship," Jack struggled to reply, "but when I try to remember it, it feels like someone is trying to drill into my head." He held his hands to his temples and groaned. Finally, his body could take no more and Jack fainted.

"Jack!" everyone cried in unison.

* * *

**Author's note: I had you all thinking I was going to update really fast with those first few chapters, didn't I? So far this chapter required the most thinking. I don't think Two is quite in character, so if anyone has any input on him that would be wonderful. He's a bit difficult to capture since so many of his TV episodes are audio only. I find it very difficult to sit through a serial with no picture.**


	6. 6

Jack was vaguely aware of voices chattering around him. He stirred and heard someone tell him not to do anything but listen. "You fainted. It seems like a typical reaction caused by triggering a faint memory after the memory has been erased. The Time Lords have similar technology." Jack opened his eyes just in time to see Ten cast a quick glance Jamie's way with a sad look on his face. "Can you tell us what you remember about it?"

"Not much, I'm afraid. I went home one night, knowing tomorrow a group of agents was going to be briefed on the next assignment. The next thing I remember is waking up, thinking it was strange that I was asleep in the medical lab. I got up and walked past the daily notice board and saw that the date was somehow two years later than it was the night before. I quit the next day. When I signed up, nobody said anything about messing with my mind."

"Given enough time, I think your memory would return on its own. Memory erasing is a deceptive term. The memories aren't really erased, just blocked. The process is never completely effective and depending on the individual and the event being targeted, it can be completely reversed. But we don't have that much time, we need answers. I'd like to scan your memories, Jack."

Jack needed only an instant to decide. "If that's the fastest way to get answers, do it."

Ten pulled a chair up next to the bed. He told Jack to sit up. He then leaned his head in very close to Jack's and raised his hands to Jack's temples. "I'll try to only target the memories related to that ship, but the mind is a tricky place, so I might stumble across other things. If you notice me getting too close to anything you don't want me to see, just imagine a door there. And don't think you can go poking around my memories, Captain."

Jamie leaned over to Two and whispered, "I don't understand. What's he doing?"

"Time Lords have a higher baseline telepathy than humans. We can read minds, in a way. " Two frowned thoughtfully. He had also see the other Doctor's expression and glance at Jamie when mentioning Time Lord memory-erasing technology.

* * *

The Doctor was seeing so many things he'd never known about Jack's past. He forced himself to ignore the temptation to snoop a bit and continued on his search. After a few moments, he was close. Jack was on an interview for the Time Agency. A man was asking questions, which seemed pretty standard for anyone about to engage in time travel. The Doctor watched the interview and noted nothing was said about the possibility of erasing memories. He 'fast-forwarded' through a series of Jack's assignments. He was at the last night Jack remembered. The Doctor now had to be very careful. If he pushed too hard, Jack could go into a coma. The Doctor recognized the blocking method; it was invented by the Amnosians. Apparently, the Time Agency liked to 'borrow' technology from other planets. Amnosian blocking was actually rather simple for a Time Lord to circumvent.

The Doctor removed one hand from Jack's temple and gestured for the other Doctor to come closer. Ten asked in a whisper for chloroban. Two disappeared briefly into the TARDIS laboratory and came back with a vial full of swirling gas. Ten took it and held it under Jack's nose, after he had inhaled deeply so he could hold his breath. Two whispered to Jamie to hold his breath as well. Jack took several deep breaths of the gas, then Ten handed the vial back to Two, who quickly capped it. "Alright, Jamie, it's safe to breathe again."

Jack felt a strange tingling sensation in his head. It was like something was tickling his brain. "That's the chemical in the gas attacking the memory block," Ten explained. After a few moments, the tingling stopped. "Alright Jack, the block should be dissolved. See if you can remember anything now."

Jack leaned back against the headboard. He slowly narrated as he began to remember.

_I showed up for a briefing, it was about Project Intercept. It was going to be a long project, aimed at gaining superior time travel technology. The Time Agency wasn't satisfied with the performance of the vortex manipulators. They weren't reliable and since they were portable, they were vulnerable. _Ten couldn't help but grin at that description of vortex manipulators. The little space-hoppers. _We spent time researching and observing various space/time traveling cultures and it didn't take long to determine that the Time Lords had the best. Command decided we were going to try to get a Time Lord ship. The next step was observing and understanding Time Lord travel habits. Unfortunately, the Time Lords didn't use their own technology very much. Only one Time Lord did enough traveling to be useful. We marked that ship and tracked it through time and space. Eventually we found where it crossed its own path; not just that, but it came physically very close to itself. We recorded that time and place and then began developing something that could influence the ship's path. Our relativity experts thought that if we could cause the ship to come into contact with itself, the paradox would allow us an opportunity to grab the ship and bring it back. _Both Doctors frowned. Nobody steals a TARDIS. Nobody. _Eventually, the reverse tractor beam was developed. We installed it on a new ship. Then we were sent to the time/space coordinates and aimed the beam at one of the ships. It did have an effect, the ship veered off course and collided with itself, but somehow the other ship had an unexpected force field. It enveloped both ships and we couldn't lock on to either one. _Extrapolator shielding, Ten thought. Not standard equipment. _Our mission was a failure. We were told to report back to base. Then everyone who had been involved in the project in any capacity had their memories erased, as protection, they said._

"Wait," Jamie broke in. "You were out there on the spaceship that fired at the TARDIS, aye? How can ye be inside the TARDIS at the same time?"

"Really, Jamie," Two said in exasperation. "It's perfectly simple. This man is at two different points in his own personal timeline. One point is in his past, I don't know how far. Then, at some point in his future, he met up with my future self and wound up traveling with him, passing through the same point in time where he had been in the other ship."

"Oh, aye." Jamie nodded, belying his utter confusion.

Ten continued. "It seems, Jack, that you are the cause for your mission failing. Because I met you, you wired up the extrapolator as a shield, which prevented you from being able to grab the TARDIS like you'd planned. When the Time Agency first observed the TARDIS, it didn't have the shielding."

"Did you understand any o' that?" Jamie leaned over and whispered to Jack.

"Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey," Ten said, overhearing Jamie. "One of the consequences of traveling through time and space. You can affect yourself in unexpected ways."

"Even though stealing the TARDIS didn't work, I'm sure the Time Agency hasn't given up, Doc," Jack said.

"We'll just have to stop them," Ten said. "We can't let them have the TARDIS. Time travel shouldn't be in the hands of people who don't know what they're doing."

"Like you, Doctor," Jamie said.

"Oi! I always know what I'm doing!" Ten retorted.

"Well, I think it's clear that Jamie and I shouldn't return to my TARDIS until we get this sorted," Two said. "You obviously need all the help you can get."

Jack grinned. _Two Doctors? This should be fun._

"Jack," Ten said.

"What?" Jack said innocently.


	7. 7

"What we need is a plan," Ten said. "The Time Agency must be stopped. Since they have and use a memory-erasing device, they obviously aren't only the scholars they claim to be. There have been a number of unexplained interferences in history that have in one way or another benefited the human colony planet where you're from, Jack."

"So you're saying the Time Agency is messing with history so that everything that has happened turns out well for Peninsularia?"

"Yeah." The Doctor nodded.

"Well, what's so wrong with that?"

"It's dangerous to change history or the future when you don't know what you're doing. You could cause a planet-wide paradox and unleash the Reapers. Or you could really upset the Time Lords and get yourself locked into an isolated parallel reality."

"No offense, Doctor, but Time Lords seems a little bit haughty. They like to run the universe."

Two and Ten replied in unison, "You have no idea."

"We could spend a very long time describing the High Council to you, but there's no point. What's important to remember is that not all Time Lords are like those on the council. Many are concerned about the wellbeing of other species without wanting to have the power of ultimate determination over them. I happen to know there are other renegades out there. However, most of them try not to attract a lot of attention to themselves. I've always been rather flamboyant."

"And you, Doctor Two, haven't seen the half of it. You'll run into a few more regenerations in time, but fortunately you won't see the worst one of the lot," Ten said. "The coat. I can't even describe it to you. It matched his personality, though. By comparison, I'm quite reserved."

"Oh, dear," Two said with a sigh.

"I think we've gone a bit astray here," interrupted Jamie.

"Right! Plan. Stop the Time Agency."

"Well, that's more thought than you have given a lot o' things, Doctor," Jamie said.

"You backwoods barbarian! I always have a plan," Two retorted.

As Jamie and Two took a moment to argue that point, Jack looked at Ten. "I thought they liked each other."

"Oh, they do. He can't get along without Jamie, but it doesn't do to say so. Thus, the insults. He wouldn't bother to insult Jamie if he didn't like him. It's like when I call you Captain instead of Jack."

* * *

The TARDIS materialized in an isolated wooded area in what appeared to be a park. Two and Jack remained inside while Ten and Jamie exited. They were each equipped with a nifty psychic communication relay which enabled them to communicate with each other without even speaking aloud. Jamie was still struggling with directing his thoughts appropriately. "Jamie, please. Think of it like a river with a little stream branching off. Only send what you want to tell me down the little stream, and let everything else flow down the main river."

"I am tryin'."

"You can practice on the way. We've got a long walk ahead of us." He handed Jamie a flat leather wallet. "This is your psychic paper with your identification. I've modified it a bit so it won't change based on your thoughts. It can be a bit difficult getting it to do what you want right off and we don't want you getting caught." He paused for a moment. "I don't suppose we can do anything about that accent."

"What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing, nothing. It's just that there aren't any Scottish settlements on this planet. Give me that paper back a tick." Jamie obliged. "Alright, you're adopted from Earth and just never grew out of it." He handed it back.

Meanwhile, Two and Jack had very little to do until they received the signal to pick up the others. Jack couldn't go back to the Time Agency because he'd be recognized and somebody needed to pilot the TARDIS. The silence was starting to bug Jack. This Doctor wasn't as outgoing and crazy as Ten. Jack decided to liven things up a little.

"So, Doctor, can I interest you in a game?"

"A game? Of what?"

Jack grinned. "Truth or Dare. With a Boeshane twist. After each turn, you take a shot of Ebedmellian ale. Makes both the truths and dares more interesting."

"You're on, young man."

* * *

The Doctor exited the offices of the Time Agency and was met by Jamie. "How'd it go?"

"Too easy. You'd think that they would want to do a bit more thorough inquiry considering what they expect their operatives to do. I suspect it'll take time before I'll be assigned anything important so I can get a look around the rest of the operation."

Break

A smart young man poked his head into the lab. "I've been informed that we've just taken on a promising new scientist. The boss is confident he'll be able to make sense of some of the information we've procured and get us on the right path."

"Thank you," replied a man in a white lab coat. The other man nodded and left.

"Well, Miss Tyler, it seems that we'll finally be able to use some of that wonderful knowledge you've shared with us." He smiled. Rose smiled as well. She'd spent the past few months giving the Time Agency as much knowledge of the TARDIS as she could. She intended to fully demonstrate the truth of the old phrase 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'

* * *

"Truth," the Doctor said, with a little bit of difficulty. He and Jack had only been playing a few rounds and already they were feeling the effects of the Ebedmellian concoction.

"What's your name?" Jack grinned evilly.

"You know I can't you that!" the Doctor objected.

"You have to. It's the rules."

"No, this does not qualify as the one situation where I can reveal my name." He attempted to shake his head vigorously, but couldn't quite manage it.

"You have to play by the rules, Doctor. I'll tell you _my _real name if you tell me yours."

"But your name is Jack," he objected.

"Now, yeah. I actually stole it so after I left the Time Agency they couldn't find me."

The Doctor's eyes widened. "How clever," he said.

"Come on, tell me your name."

"Alright, but you have to swear on your life not to ever, ever, tell anyone else, for any reason. Even if they say please." Jack help up his hand in an approximation of an oath-swearing gesture. "Alright, come here." Jack leaned forward and the Doctor whispered into Jack's ear. "Now, fair's fair, what's your name?" Jack imitated the Doctor's method and whispered into his ear. "That makes it your turn again, Doctor. That was a truth."

"Dare."

"Open the letter C storage chest and dance a waltz with whatever you pull out first."

The Doctor complied, pulling up the grating and jumping into the compartment. He shuffled around a bit, searching for the correct chest. "Got it!" he cried. He opened the lid and reached in. His hand came out gripping a Cyberman's head. He scrambled out of the compartment, closed the grating, and walked over the console. He flicked a switch and a waltz began to play. He held up the head in one hand and gracefully bowed to it as he would to any lady. He then proceeded to waltz. "How was that, Jack?"

"Very nice, Doctor."

"Good. Your turn."

"Truth."

"Would you like this dance?"

"I would." He joined the Doctor and they finished the waltz. Then they both collapsed on the floor, laughing.

Suddenly, the Doctor stopped laughing. "Did you hear that?" he whispered.

"No. What is it?"

"I'm not sure." He listened intently. He was just about to dismiss it as nothing when the lights began flickering. "Oh, dear!" he exclaimed.


	8. 8

"Oh, dear, what, Doctor?"

"I believe something from that chest might have escaped." He pressed his hands to his temples. "And I doubt very much we'll be able to find it in this condition."

"Surely nothing serious can happ-" Jack was interrupted by the lights beginning to flicker in an unpleasant strobe fashion.

"Nothing serious, eh?" Two got to his feet with difficulty. "Follow me," he instructed. "To the kitchen!"

Once they arrived, he motioned Jack to a chair. He then put his face very close to the replicator and began pushing buttons. Soon, two glasses full of a thick dark green liquid appeared. He grabbed one and handed the other to Jack. Jack sniffed it warily. "It's a Halesh metabolism booster. One sip per drink, so that makes a whole glass for us both and then we can get back to chasing down whatever it is we're chasing."

Two gulped down the concoction while Jack watched. Finally, he decided he just had to go for it. He took a big gulp and was surprised to discover it was actually quite tasty. He quickly finished his glass. They both remained still for a few moments as they felt the alcoholic haze dissipate. "Right. Come on!" Two exclaimed, heading back to the control room. Jack was right behind.

Two began scanning the control room with his sonic screwdriver. Jack shook his head, remembering. "The first time I met you, Doctor, we were trying to break out of hospital full of gas mask head people and we wound up having a competition about sonic devices. I had a blaster and you refused to say what you had. Then when I found out it was a screwdriver I made all sorts of cracks about it. And then, of course, the next time I reached for my blaster, I found a banana in my pocket."

"So? Bananas are good," Two replied.

"What is it with you and bananas, Doctor?"

"Shhh! I think I've located it." The sonic was emitting a steady radar-like ping. The Doctor slowly crept toward the location indicated. He carefully pulled up one panel of the grating and aimed the light downward. "There you are." He flicked the switch on the sonic and was just about to activate it when the object flew up in his face, knocking him over. It then raced across the floor and disappeared.

"What was that, Doctor?"

"A Cybermat."

* * *

Ten and Jamie were talking a walk after Ten's first day as a Time Agent. They noticed that most people here didn't walk anywhere, so they were attracting some attention, especially as Jamie was still stubbornly attired in a kilt. He'd already given up correcting passersby that it was not a skirt and now just ignored them.

"I'm really no good at this long-term undercover type of thing," Ten said. "It makes me feel like a con artist, like Jack." He shuddered. "And it's going so slowly. I feel like a _normal_ person, living events in a linear progression. It's so boring! All I did today was working on equations and most of them were wrong. I know there aren't many people as clever as me, but really. There are a number of planets that have basic time travel and any one of their scientists could have done a better job. The formula for dematerialization, for instance…" Ten stopped in his tracks. Why hadn't he recognized that earlier?

"Doctor? What's wrong?" Jamie inquired.

"I saw a formula for dematerialization today. That's not something they should have. The vortex manipulators don't work that way. Other time and space traveling species haven't developed to that point. So where did they get that formula from? It was largely incorrect, but the idea of how it might work was there. This is going to take too long!"

"Say, Doctor, the Time Agency is able to do this sort o' thing because after they've done it, they can just erase peoples' memories, yeah?"

"Yes."

"Well, why don't you just do something to that fancy machine o' theirs so that they can't do that anymore? They'll probably not risk doin' sneaky things if people will be able to remember it. It's like havin' witnesses to a crime."

"That's an idea. And then, once they discover something is wrong, they'll need someone to fix it. And who better than the genius engineer they just hired? I can do a false fix, earn their trust, see what I need to see and do what I need to do and get out. They'll be stopped even before they realize that I didn't really fix the machine. I need to stop at the TARDIS for a bit to grab a few things. I'll be back before dark. Keep an eye on who leaves and what sort of security there is." The Doctor took off at a sprint, for the moment missing his long brown coat. He'd had to change for the Time Agency as he didn't want to take the chance that someone would recognize him.

As he neared the TARDIS, he snapped his fingers and grinned inwardly as the doors swung open. It soon disappeared as he entered and saw the lights flickering. "Jack?" he asked in a tone managing to be both inquiring and suspicious.

Jack appeared from the corridor looking a little flustered. "Doctor! We weren't expecting you back."

"I can see that," he replied as music began to boom from the TARDIS speakers.

"We…were…just…having…a…..disco. Yeah. We needed some strobe lights and tunes."

"Ok," Ten said. "Pachelbel's Canon isn't usually described as disco, but I'm busy, so I'm not going to worry about it. I just need to get a few things and then I'll leave you two to dance the night away or whatever." He went to a storage cupboard just off the control room and rummaged around for a few moments. He emerged with his hands full, but quickly solved that problem by stuffing his pockets. Jack quirked an eyebrow at the Doctor's flat pockets. "How'd you do that?"

The Doctor winked. "They're bigger on the inside. I've got to run. Have fun."

He sprinted away, closing the doors behind him. "Yeah," Jack muttered, "fun."

* * *

Jamie watched people wander in and out of the buildings around the square. He made careful note of those entering and leaving the Time Agency. Security seemed to be changing shift. Jamie counted only five guards reporting in while at least 20 were leaving. It appeared they might have an opportunity.

* * *

**Author's Note: A bit slow on the update, aren't I? And it will be the same for the rest of this month I think. I will come back, I promise.**


	9. 9

Jack watched with amusement as the Doctor dashed back and forth across the console room, his hair flying. It had taken several hours, but finally they had managed to lure the small machine into this room, sealing off the doors to the rest of the TARDIS.

"Aha!" Two exclaimed. He apparently had the Cybermat cornered. He pointed the sonic at the metallic slug and pressed the button down with a grin of satisfaction. "Gotcha." The Cybermat emitted a whine that decreased in pitch and volume as it shut down. Two reached down and grabbed it. Although he was almost certain it was inactive, he held it gingerly and a good distance from his body. "Now I've caught the little bugger, would you do something about those lights and that infernal noise?"

"Doctor, it's just a little Skrillex," Jack said. "It's classic."

"Nails on a blackboard is what it is," Two retorted. He jumped in surprise as the Cybermat briefly flashed to life. "Quick, turn that stuff off. I think this thing likes it."

Jack complied with a chuckle. "Alright, alright."

Two tightened his grip on the Cybermat, watching as the light faded once again from its eyes. "That's better." He pulled up the floor grating and dropped into the compartment underneath. He scanned it to make sure nothing else had managed an escape, then chucked the Cybermat into the chest. He slammed the lid and soniced the lock. He climbed out, closed the grating panel with a clang, and brushed his hands together. "Well, now that's over, I think I could use some refreshment." He paused a few moments, then added, "But no more of that game of yours, young man. I chase evil all over the galaxy, I don't need it all over the TARDIS as well."

Jack just nodded.

* * *

Ten and Jamie had managed to avoid the closing sweep by the security guards. They were ready to put the plan in motion. The pair crept along corridors and stairways until they reached Level 4. Out of habit, Ten tried to grab his sonic out of his inner coat pocket, only to be reminded that he was not wearing his favorite suit. He frowned at the jeans and plaid button-up he'd donned. _Just a little adjustment to the hair and I'd be the Wolverine_, he thought. He found his sonic in a different pocket and cautiously flicked it back and forth to ensure no one was in the vicinity. He motioned to Jamie that the coast was clear and they entered the hallway.

Jamie led the way to the only door. As he reached for the button that would open the door, Ten cried, "No! Don't touch that!"

Jamie pulled back his hand. "What's the matter, Doctor?"

Ten aimed the sonic. It's normal whistle was muted, sounding almost sickly. "That's the matter. Forcefield. High-tech stuff, it isn't just your basic energy wall. Those are easy enough to penetrate. This, this is clever. It operates on frequency oscillations. Nothing can get through unless it matches that frequency, and of course, the frequency changes frequently."

"Can't that contraption of yours get through?"

Ten gave Jamie a look. "Normally, the sonic can do just about anything, except wood and deadlock seals, and then there's the issue with hairdryers…and in this instance, the frequency of the field changes too often and too quickly for the sonic to match. As the-"

Jamie tuned the Doctor out at this point. He rarely understood the technical explanations of why something would or would not work. He studied the walls and noticed a control panel opposite the door. He walked over to it. There were two large buttons, one a solid circle and one a ring. The solid circle was slightly depressed. Jamie decided to do something the Doctor always said never to do. He pushed the ring button. He glanced over his shoulder at the door. He couldn't see a difference, but he noticed the sonic once again sounded like itself.

Ten noticed as well. "That's odd," he said, flicking the device back and forth.

Jamie came and stood beside the Doctor. "I think it's safe now."

"Oh, really? And what makes you think that?"

"The controls are behind us."

"That's ridiculous. Why would they be outside of the room?" He turned around and saw the panel. "Ah. Well, like I always say, allons-y!"

* * *

As Ten and Jamie left the memory machine, Jamie asked, "Why did they put the door controls on the outside?"

"Probably it's more important to keep someone in than out. After all, if you're outside, you don't really know what's going on in here. Once you're inside, though, you find out what's about to happen. You might try to make a break for it. They can't let that happen so they use the force field to make sure the unfortunate soul stays put until the process is over." Ten gathered up his tools and leftover bits and Jamie watched as the pile of things disappeared into the Doctor's pockets without so much as lump to indicate their presence.

Jamie walked over to the door and poked his head out. "All clear," he said. Ten followed Jamie out and after re-engaging the force field, they began their stealthy retreat. As they entered level 2 they passed by deserted labs. Ten grabbed Jamie's shoulder and pointed. "There's where I work," he said. He leaned partway into the room and gave an evil glance at the piles of papers on the desk. He and Jamie then resumed their course. At the last doorway, they stopped as they heard noises coming from inside.

Ten motioned for Jamie to back away from the door as he himself crept closer. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a stethoscope. He put it against the wall and attempted to listen. He could just make out two voices, but he couldn't hear what they were saying. Suddenly, he felt himself pulled back into a recess in the wall. "What was that for?" he asked.

Jamie said nothing, just pointed. Two people were leaving the lab. One was a tall man in a white lab coat. The other was a woman wearing a pink jacket. Ten had a brief flashback of a girl who frequently wore pink. The woman turned for a moment as she closed the door of the lab.

Ten nearly choked as he recognized her. _Rose._

**Author's note: I am back! I know it's been awhile. I have to get back into this whole writing thing. Anyway, thank you for patiently waiting and thank you for the reviews!**_  
_


	10. 10

Jamie was getting a tad impatient. The woman and man had left the hallway some time ago, but the Doctor hadn't moved a muscle. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. "Doctor!" he hissed.

"What?" The Doctor was startled out of a reverie. He shook his head to clear it. "Sorry. Let's go."

"Finally," Jamie muttered. He debated inwardly whether to ask the Doctor about what had just happened. He settled for asking, "Doctor, are you alright?"

"Always," the Doctor replied, but his tone was anything but convincing.

"Now look here, Doctor, something about those people upset ya. I've seen that man about before, so more than likely it was the woman. I'm guessing ya know her."

Ten made a face. "You're right. Her name is Rose Tyler. She traveled with me for a few years. I'll tell you the rest after we get out of here. This isn't the place for story time."

Once Jamie and Ten had managed to get of the building undetected, Jamie demanded the rest of the Doctor's story.

"I met Rose soon after I had regenerated into my 9th form. I'd been knocking about on my own for some time before that so I was anxious for company. She seemed to be able to handle herself pretty well, facing living shop window dummies and the Nestene Consciousness, but as time went on, she started to change. It's not surprising, really, a little girl fascinated by a man who can show her the universe. She loved me, and I was…fond of her. I didn't really love her, not like that. She was just 19 when we met. We traveled through time and space, doing a lot of running. About six months ago we met Captain Jack and he wound up coming with us since his ship was about to explode. Then we wound up on Satellite 5."

Ten slowed slightly, falling silent. Jamie wanted to press him to continue, but he glanced back and saw the Doctor's face. He decided to wait for him to continue on his own.

"You remember the Daleks," Ten abruptly continued. "They were using the satellite to manipulate Earth's society. They were on the satellite, exterminating everyone they found. I knew I couldn't stop them, so I sent Rose back home in the TARDIS. She wouldn't accept it, though. She managed to open the TARDIS and absorbed the time vortex into her mind. She brought the TARDIS back to Satellite 5, destroyed all the Daleks, and resurrected Jack and made him immortal. But no one is made to contain the time vortex, it was killing her. I absorbed it from her and replaced it, but doing so triggered my regeneration into this body. As I was taking the time vortex back, I was forced to see Rose's future. I'd always ignored it before, but now I couldn't. I saw that she would continue changing and start becoming even more obsessive and possessive and that upset me. She had been with me for a few years, but no 22 year old human was going to act like she owned me or the TARDIS. I took her home right after I regenerated. Then I went back to Satellite 5 and picked up Jack. Since then, it's been the two of us on extended holiday."

Jamie walked on, processing the story he'd just heard. Eventually he asked, "What do ya think she's doin' there?"

Ten shook his head. "I'm not sure. But it changes the plan. I need to talk to Jack."

* * *

Back in the TARDIS, Ten emptied his pockets into Jamie's arms. "Thanks. Now, if you'd put all those away." He walked off in search of Jack.

Jamie rolled his eyes. "Alright you flyin' box, where do these go?" The TARDIS obligingly shifted and brought up the appropriate rooms.

Ten found Jack relaxing in the hot tub with a whiskey on the rocks in one hand. "Taking it easy after the…disco…are we?" he asked.

Jack chuckled. "You know it, Doc. How'd your night go?"

"Something came up. I saw Rose there tonight."

Jack choked on the sip of whiskey he'd just taken. "Rose?!"

"Yeah, it was her."

"What would Rose be doing at the time agency?"

"It looked like she was working with a scientist." A thought crossed Ten's mind. "That could explain some of the equations I came across while I was working. When Rose absorbed the time vortex, she could see everything. After it was removed, she couldn't consciously remember anything, but the imprints would be there. I'm sure the time agency could get the technology to access latent memories. I don't know exactly how much she is able give them, but its' obviously enough to enable them to start forming equations and formulas for the processes involved in time travel by TARDIS."

Jack set the whiskey down and climbed out of the hot tub. Ten shook his head. "Jack, what have I told you about swim trunks in the pool and hot tub?"

Jack just grinned.

* * *

Ten sighed with relief as he looked in the mirror in his room. He was finally back in his suit and trainers. He gave a final fluff to his bangs and nodded with satisfaction. He left the room and met up with Jack. They both put on their overcoats and matched stride as they left the TARDIS and headed for the time agency.

* * *

Two's recorder practice was interrupted by a sudden pain in his head. He rubbed his temples. Decided he'd had enough recorder for one night, he moved to set it down on the table. As he did so, his fingers brushed against an unfamiliar black leather wallet. He grabbed it and flipped it open. Before his eyes, a message appeared on the blank paper. 'Hello, sweetie. Plains of Agrador. Bring a scarf.' He stared at the words in confusion. "Jamie! Come here, would you?"

Jamie soon entered Two's room. "What is it?"

Two handed him the wallet. "Do you know what this is?"

"Oh, aye, it's called, um, psychic paper. The other Doctor was using it earlier as identification."

"Psychic paper?" Two murmured. "Hmm. Any idea what the message inside means?"

Jamie flipped the wallet open and read the words. "Not me."

"Well, I suppose we should check it out. We'll be back in no time." He headed off to the control room with Jamie at his heels.

**Author's note: I never thought about it before, but why did Rose so easily survive absorbing the time vortex while the Doctor had to regenerate? I found a few theories, but here's the one that I'll adopt: ****Possibly Rose survived because the TARDIS PUT the time vortex into Rose (I'm convinced that the TARDIS was the one that said "My Doctor", not Rose, since when does she talk like that?), the TARDIS limited her exposure to it, but when the good Doctor extracted it from her he took all of it at once. ****Minor detail, not really important to my story, but it makes the TARDIS cooler and Rose less important, so all good.**


	11. 11

Two flicked a few switches on the TARDIS console. As the ship dematerialized, he said, "Jamie, go into the wardrobe and fish out a scarf, would you?"

Jamie nodded. He'd never been into the wardrobe before. As he entered, he was awed. Wardrobe didn't do this room justice. It was huge, extending both upwards and downwards several levels with a spiral staircase in the center. Jamie didn't even know where to begin looking, so he headed for the nearest rack and began rummaging. Catching a glimpse of one end of a scarf draped over a hanger, he tugged at it. The scarf began slipping toward him. Giving it one more yank, he was expecting the scarf to come free of the hanger. However, it was longer than he'd anticipated. Jamie was now walking backwards trying to pull the scarf out. He tripped over an uneven place in the floor and stumbled backward. He bumped into a rack of clothes that pushed him forward. He turned several times, trying to regain his balance, his kilt and the scarf swinging around him. Finally he managed to grab the railing of the staircase and steady himself. Hastily grabbing the scarf's other end, he stomped out of the room.

Two was wondering just what was taking Jamie so long. Fetching a scarf was hardly rocket science. He turned toward the door as he heard footsteps approaching. Jamie shoved the door open with unnecessary force. "That's the last time I go fetchin' anything in that room," he announced.

Two stared at Jamie, speechless. He was wrapped up in what appeared to a be a mile of striped scarf. "Well," he said at last. "I don't think anyone could want more scarf than that."

* * *

"So what's the plan here, Doctor?" Jack asked as they walked into town.

"I make it up as I go," Ten replied. "You should know that by now."

"Alright, what's the objective then?"

"First, get Rose. Second, close down the time agency."

"Right. Piece of cake."

They separated as they neared the T.A. building. Jack went around the back while Ten walked in the front door. He was greeted by the receptionist Lucy.

"Aren't you looking spiffy this morning. Do you have plans later or something?"

"You could say that," he acknowledged.

"Lucky someone," she replied. "Have a good day, handsome."

"Thanks," he said as he headed for the break room. He decided to follow his usual work routine which included grabbing a coffee which he never actually drank. That was one of the quirks of regeneration. He currently didn't like coffee in any way, shape, or form, but it was expected that a scientist who worked crazy hours like he did would live on coffee, so he usually kept a cup handy.

Carrying the mug, he nonchalantly looked around, making sure no one was watching. He headed to the back door and let Jack in. "Come on," he whispered.

They went up to the Doctor's lab. First, Ten set down the coffee out of the way. Second, he pulled up the building schematics on the computer. He and Jack sat down, studying the screen. They were so intent that they didn't hear Dr. Bates come in.

"Morning, Dr. Smith."

Ten and Jack both jumped a few inches off their seats. "Oh, yes, morning, Dr. Bates."

Dr. Bates studied Jack for a moment. "Where's your normal young man?"

"Oh, I left him home today. This is Jack."

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Bates." Jack extended his hand.

_That's not your normal greeting, _Ten thought.

_Look at him, Doc, _Jack responded. _No way._

"The pleasure's all mine, Jack," Dr. Bates replied, his eyes lingering just a moment too long on Jack.

Ten savored the moment of Jack being made uncomfortable for once, then took pity on him and broke in. "Jack just stopped in for a minute, he's really got to be going." He nodded slightly toward the door.

Jack took the cue. "Right, places to go. See you doctors later!" He playfully saluted and left the room, his coat dramatically swishing behind him.

"Well, I suppose I should get back to work myself. See you later," Doctor Bates said. He nodded and left the room, secretly hoping he could run into Jack again on his way out. He scanned the hallway and sighed with disappointment. Jack was gone.

Jack heaved a quiet sigh of relief as he saw Dr. Bates take the lift back to wherever it was he came from. He glanced both ways before heading back to rejoin the Doctor.

* * *

The TARDIS materialized with an unusual wheeze and series of thuds. Two stroked the console while muttering, "Now what's that about, old thing?" He shook his head. "Jamie! We've arrived."

They left the TARDIS. Just before closing the door, Two asked, "Jamie, where's the scarf?"

Jamie scowled. "Oh, I'll go and get it."

He soon returned, scarf in hands. He thrust it at the Doctor. "Here, take the infernal thing."

Two chuckled. "It's not that bad, Jamie, really."

"Easy for you to say," he retorted.

Two was about to say something when he was interrupted by a shout. "Doctor, over here!"

Two and Jamie exchanged glances and then hurried off in the direction of the shout. They soon saw a woman surrounded by an army. She was pointing a blaster, oblivious to the fact that she was outnumbered and sinking into a pit of quicksand. She glanced at them and confusion spread across her face. The Doctor pulled a small gadget out of his pocket, set in on the ground, and pushed a button. The army soon turned and fled.

"What was that, Doctor?" Jamie asked.

"Oh, just a little something I borrowed from myself. Never know when you might need to intimidate a large crowd very quickly."

The Doctor and Jamie walked over to the woman. They stood on each side of her and pulled her free. "Thanks for that," she said. "I was expecting someone else, but I guess he didn't get my message."

"This message, you mean?" said the Doctor, holding up the psychic paper.

"Oh," she said. She furrowed her brow in concentration. "I haven't seen you before. You're practically a child."

Jamie's jaw dropped. "Child? Him?" He paused. "Well, he does act like a child sometimes, I suppose."

"I do not!" the Doctor objected.

"Somehow the message must've gone wrong," the woman murmured. "I'm not supposed to meet you yet, but I have now. I'm River Song."

"And I'm the Doctor, and this is Jamie. And this is the scarf you requested." He handed the rather large bundle to River.

"Oh," River said. "I don't think we'll need it now. We usually-" She stopped herself. "Mmm, can't finish that sentence. Spoilers," she said with a smile and a wink.

"Well, then, I guess we should be off," Two said uncomfortably. "Good day."

"Bye," Jamie said.

"See you, sweetie," River said. She then pushed a few buttons on the device on her wrist and disappeared.

As Two and Jamie returned to the TARDIS, Two said, "Remind me to tell myself to never respond to a mysterious message that says 'sweetie' in it somewhere."

"Aye, I'll do that."

**Author's Note: If you're curious, I am not a fan of River Song. To be precise, I am not a fan of _what_ River Song is. I was fine with her when she was just a mysterious person in The Library.**


	12. 12

It was the universal siesta hour, right after lunch. Ten and Jack had decided this would be their best chance to get in and snatch Rose. They had no idea what her schedule or routine was, but everyone tended to go their separate ways after eating. Jack reached into his pocket, double checking for the tenth time that he had the atogene-a compound that would ensure Rose's cooperation.

The two men nodded at each other. Ten led the way out of his lab for the last time and they gave a quick check to each room they passed. Level 2 was a bust. Ten looked at Jack and then at the stairs at the opposite end of the corridor. Jack understood the message-split up. Ten held up four fingers, signifying they would go down to level 4 and then work their way back up.

The two men found level 4 completely vacant. They moved up to level 3. As they neared the center point, they heard music coming from one of the rooms.

_Oh it tears me up_

_I tried to hold on but it hurts too much_

_I tried to forgive but it's not enough_

_To make it all okay_

_You can't play our broken strings_

_You can't feel anything_

_That your heart don't want to feel_

_I can't tell you something that ain't real_

Ten crept toward the open door and peeked in. He saw Rose sitting at a desk, typing away on a laptop, tapping her foot to the music and singing along, rather badly. He nodded at Jack. Jack took a quick glance around the corridor, making sure no one was coming. He signaled the all clear, so they both tiptoed into the room. Rose was so intent on what she was working on that she never even noticed she wasn't alone until she glimpsed a bottle of atogene held beneath her nose. She didn't even have time to be confused before she slumped over in her chair. In a few moments, she woke up with a very blank look on her face.

Ten leaned over and whispered something in her ear. Jack followed suit. Rose stood up and the trio left the room. They proceeded up to level 1. Jack then proceeded to take Rose out the back door while Ten walked up to the reception desk. Lucy was on break, so no one was around to see him walk down the short hallway that led to the boss's office. The outer door was locked, but the sonic screwdriver made quick work of that. Ten pulled the door open and strode inside.

He found four men leaning back in their chairs, feet up on the desk in the center of the room. They were dozing with the shades down, papers scattered around their feet and on the floor. Ten quietly picked up a paper here and there as he made his way closer. He tucked a few papers inside his jacket and left the rest. Once he had gotten himself into position, he aimed the sonic and metal security doors closed with a clang. The four men all jumped and nearly slid off their seats.

The one man the Doctor recognized as Nelson narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing in here, Mr. Smith?"

"Just popping in for a chat," Ten said. "Nothing like a little chat between friends. Well, I say friends. We need to discuss these," he said, holding up a stack of papers containing equations and sketches of a box that resembled the TARDIS, "and one other thing. My name isn't Mr. Smith. It's the Doctor. Just the Doctor."

* * *

Jack pressed a button on a remote and within moments, the TARDIS materialized. He guided Rose to the doors and knocked, not wanting to bother fishing out his key. Jamie pulled the doors open and stepped back, allowing the others to enter. Jack closed the doors behind them. "Jamie, take her to her room." Jack looked at Rose and said, "Follow Jamie and do whatever he tells you." As Jamie and Rose left the room, Jamie turned back. "Where's her room?" For once, the TARDIS was not being accommodating and bringing near the desired destination. "Oh, right," Jack said. He had to stop and think. "Four lefts and a right from my room. The door will be locked. The password is pink, pizza, Ricky." Jamie nodded and led Rose out. Jack stepped over to the console and pulled out a keyboard. He typed in the message the Doctor had given him.

* * *

The four men now sat up straight with their feet firmly on the floor. They were casting uncomfortable glances at each other as they waited. The Doctor had talked them half to death and was now glaring at them with his arms crossed. He'd said someone was coming to deal with them, but he hadn't said who it was.

Soon enough, there were sounds characteristic of a spaceship landing nearby. Within a few minutes, a heavy, measured tread was audible. The Doctor once again aimed the sonic and the security doors rose, revealing a line of rhino-like creatures. Three of these creatures stepped inside the room and one of these walked forward to meet the Doctor. He spoke in a strange language, and the Doctor responded. "Gentlemen," the Doctor said, in English now, "meet the Judoon. I'll be leaving now. Ta."

Ten left the room, his coattails flying behind him. The four men looked around helplessly as the Judoon's translator kicked in and he began reading a list of violations against the Shadow Proclamation.

* * *

Back in the TARDIS, Ten took the controls. He pulled the final lever and the ship wheezed away. He pulled down the scanner and watched with satisfaction as the employees of the Time Agency were taken into the Judoon ships. The technology they'd acquired was being dismantled and transported away as well. Jack entered the room and stood beside the Doctor. "So that's the end of the Time Agency, huh?"

Ten nodded. "Yep. From now on, the Shadow Proclamation is going to be keeping a closer eye on anyone with time travel technology."

"I thought that was what Time Lords did."

"No, they keep people from changing the past or the future too much and regulate travel to parallel universes. The technology side of things is considered beneath them."

"Ah," said Jack. "Well, what's next, Doc?"

"We have to get Rose home. And we still have to sort out them," he said, indicating where Two and Jamie sat.

**Song: Broken Strings, James Morrison featuring Nelly Furtado**


	13. 13

The TARDIS had appeared outside of Royal Hope Hospital. With a few flashes of the psychic paper, Ten got Rose inside an exam room in record time. They sat in silence, waiting for someone to come in. After a few minutes, a young woman in a white coat entered. "Hi," she said, "Dr. Martha Jones." She shook Ten's hand. "This is Rose?" He nodded. "And you are?"

"John Smith. I ran into her wandering around outside an abandoned building. She seemed a bit confused and was rambling about things that didn't make any sense. I didn't find any identification on her so I just thought it would be best to bring her to hospital."

"Alright. Would you mind waiting outside, Mr. Smith?"

"Not at all," he replied. He left the exam room and found an isolated seat in the waiting room. He slipped Rose's mobile out of his pocket. He'd taken it earlier. He flipped it open and used the sonic to 'dial' a number.

Once he'd finished the short conversation, he left the room and exited the hospital. As he reentered the TARDIS, he caught a glimpse of the person he'd just called going in. _Good, that should be settled, _he thought. He snapped his fingers, closing the doors. The person he'd been watching turned slightly at the familiar sound of the TARDIS dematerializing, but continued walking into the hospital.

* * *

Dr. Jones left Rose in the exam room and went out looking for Mr. Smith. The waiting room was deserted except for a young man. He caught her eye and came over. "Are you Dr. Jones?" he asked.

"Yes, how can I help you?"

"I'm here for Rose Tyler."

"What? We didn't have any contact information for her, how did you know she was here?"

"I got a call," he answered.

"From who?" she demanded.

"The Doctor," he replied.

"What doctor?"

"The one that brought her in."

"He said his name was Mr. Smith."

"Oh…it is; we just…call him the Doctor."

"He said he didn't know this young woman, that he found her and brought her here."

"He lies."

"Fine," she replied, throwing her hands up. "Who are you?"

"Mickey Smith."

"Martha," she said, with the customary handshake. "I was just coming to tell Mr. Smith that physically, Miss Tyler should be fine, but I am going to recommend a psychiatric evaluation. It's unusual for someone like her to be going on about space travel and aliens. She keeps saying something about Gelth and Charles Dickens."

Mickey grinned wryly. That sounded like Rose; she seemed to have an obsession with the Gelth.

"Well, Mickey, since you know Miss Tyler, I'll release her and let you take her home." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a card, handing it to Mickey. "Here's my card, have Rose get in touch with me if anything unusual happens. I'll get onto that psych referral, she should hear from someone soon."

Martha led Rose out of the room and watched as Mickey escorted her away. He turned back and gave Martha a goodbye smile. She smiled back, then headed into her office. She typed up her notes and then sent out the patient referral. She stood and looked at the clock. It was already lunchtime.

When Martha got back, a receptionist walked into her office with a piece of paper. Martha read the message: 'Dr. Jones, please call 0870 555 5555.' She thought the message was a bit unspecific, but picked up the phone and dialed the number.

"Hello. Name, please."

_That's a bit abrupt,_ thought Martha. "Doctor Martha Jones."

"Thank you. Please hold."

Martha leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, expecting to wait for some time. However, very soon, another voice spoke. "Dr. Jones, this is Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. I'm calling about a patient you saw earlier, Rose Tyler."

"I'm sorry, but you know I can't talk about a patient without his or her written consent."

"I just want to know exactly what she told you that caused you to request a psychiatric examination."

"I can't tell you that."

"Dr. Jones, this could be a matter of global security. I need to know exactly what Miss Tyler talked about."

"Really, all she said was something about Gelth, Charles Dickens, time, and a doctor. The doctor bit at least made sense since she was seeing a doctor at the time."

"Somehow, I doubt you were the doctor she meant. Thank you, Dr. Jones. Talk to you soon." The Brigadier hung up, leaving Martha just as confused as before. _Global security? A different doctor than herself?_ Martha shook her head. It had been a strange few hours.

Promptly at five, Martha hung up her coat in her office and kicked off her work shoes. She disappeared into the bathroom and came out in a pair of jeans. She pulled a leather jacket off the coat rack and put on a pair of heeled boots. She wasn't really looking forward to the family dinner, but it was a tradition that her parents stubbornly clung to, despite the fact that it always ended in a huge argument and several people not speaking to each other for weeks. She slung her bag over her shoulder as she walked out of the automatic doors at the main entrance.

"Come with us, Dr. Jones," said a man as two others took their places on either side of her, shepherding her toward a large black SUV waiting at the curb.

* * *

Martha was taken into a large office. A man sat behind a massive desk, holding a file in one hand and taking notes with the other. Martha sat in a chair facing him and read the name plate: Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. This was the man she'd spoken to earlier. She saw an unfamiliar abbreviation: U.N.I.T.

Once he finished with file, the Brigadier extended his hand. "Dr. Jones, it's good to meet you." Martha just nodded. He continued, "I'm sure you're wondering why you were brought here. You'll find this hard to believe, Dr. Jones, but when Miss Tyler was 'rambling' today, she wasn't hallucinating. Miss Tyler has in fact traveled in both time and space and seen a number of aliens, including beings called the Gelth. She traveled with a man called the Doctor."

"You're joking, right? This is someone's idea of a prank." Martha turned this way and that, trying to spot a hidden camera or something. She soon stopped when she realized this Brigadier person was quite serious. Something then clicked in her brain. "The Doctor. Would that be the man who called himself John Smith and brought her in?"

The Brigadier nodded. "That's him. The reason we brought you in, Dr. Jones, is that we need to make sure you don't repeat to anyone the things Miss Tyler mentioned."

Martha frowned. "Of course I won't." She paused. "I did say something to that bloke, Mickey, though."

The Brigadier waved his hand. "Oh, he's all right. He works for us occasionally."

"Who's us, exactly?"

"U.N.I.T., the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. We deal with extraterrestrial matters. When we're not cleaning up after that Torchwood lot, that is."

"I've never heard of you."

"Thankfully. U.N.I.T. is one of the world's best kept secrets for nearly 40 years."

"What exactly do you do?"

"Defend the earth, mostly. Keep tabs on the Doctor. We never know what's going to happen from day to day."

Martha couldn't keep the interest off her face. It sounded like a really exciting job.

The Brigadier noticed. "We're always looking for people who are the best at what they do to work for us. Your record is impressive, and more importantly, the Doctor put in a good word for you. He said 'you were good in a crisis once that didn't happen' and he thought you'd be a good addition."

Martha was confused. "A crisis once that didn't happen?"

The Brigadier shook his head. "It happens a lot, dealing with the Doctor. We just accept it and move on."

Martha didn't even think twice after that. "I think you've just made me an offer I can't refuse."


	14. 14

The TARDIS materialized once again. This time it was orbiting a nebula. "Well, here we are," Ten said, his voice cheery but his expression a little sad. He opened the TARDIS doors and leaned out, one hand gripping the side. He flicked the sonic screwdriver a few times until it locked onto a signal. Within a few moments, another TARDIS appeared.

Two and Jamie stood in the console room, reluctant to leave. Everyone knew they should go, but nobody wanted to make the first move. Finally, Jamie stepped forward. He looked at Jack. "It's been a pleasure," he said, grasping Jack's hand and giving it a firm shake. Jack just nodded, giving Jamie a slap on the shoulder, the universal man signal of approval. Jamie stood aside while Two came up. He also gave Jack a handshake, saying, "Well, young man, it's been an experience. With both of you. Safe travels," he concluded. Jack nodded again, then stepped back and gave the Doctor a salute.

"You really impressed him, Doctor," Ten broke in. "He's almost never serious like that."

"Hey," Jack complained.

Jamie walked over to Ten. "It was good to meet you, Doctor," he said. He moved to shake hands, but Ten wasn't much of a handshake man. He leaned forward and gave Jamie a big hug. Jamie made a face of surprise. H wasn't accustomed to hugs, not from the Doctor, anyway. Stepping away, Ten said, "Be safe, James McCrimmon. Look after him," he added in a whisper. "He won't ever say it, but he can't get on without you."

"I know. Goodbye, Doctor."

"Goodbye, Jamie."

Two walked over to Ten and they stood face to face, silent for a few moments. "Don't hug me," Two finally said.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Ten replied with a smile. "I'm glad you and I got on. You and Three never did. Of course, he did tend to be an arrogant bugger."

Two made a face. "I'm looking forward to it," he said, sarcasm oozing from his voice.

Ten smiled again. "Goodbye, Doctor."

Two bowed his head in acknowledgement. "Doctor," he said.

Two and Jamie finally walked to the open doors. Ten moved to the console and manipulated the controls, expanding the extrapolator shield to encompass the other TARDIS so that they could simply walk over.

Just as they were about to exit, a voice crackled over the scanner. "Doctor," it said in a deep, ominous voice.

Two rolled his eyes. "What is it, Laran?"

"The high council is most displeased at your continued disregard for the non-interference statute."

"What else is new?" Two retorted.

"Due to your repeated offences, the only logical conclusion is to recall you to Gallifrey to face the consequences. Your TARDIS will be confiscated," Laran droned, his voice losing the deep ominous resonance and becoming merely annoying.

Out of Laran's view, Ten pushed a few buttons, jamming the scanner. As static began appearing, Two said, "Logic, my dear Laran, merely enables one to be wrong with authority." Laran's face was priceless as the connection was lost. Two and Jamie seized the opportunity and dashed back into their proper TARDIS. It broke away from Ten's TARDIS and dematerialized. Ten and Jack continued watching the empty space it had occupied for a few moments. Then Two's voice crackled over the scanner. "I nearly forgot, Doctor. I wanted to tell you to watch out for someone named River Song. She seems to know you and expect you to always come to her rescue whenever she calls. And I imagine she calls rather often. She seems quite a reckless lady."

Two nodded in understanding.

"Happy travels," Two said. He disappeared.

Ten rather absent-mindedly snapped his fingers, closing the doors. He was musing over what Two had just told him. _I certainly don't need to be looking after ANOTHER reckless person._

_Oh, and I suppose you're Mr. Careful,_ Jack mentally replied.

Ten grinned. "You're right. Between the two of us, I think we have enough recklessness for the universe to handle."

Jack sighed, feeling the sensation of calm settling in. _Not if I can help it, _he thought. "So, what's next, Doc?"

"I don't know. What do you feel like?"

Jack didn't need to stop and think. "You know we didn't do this time around?" Ten shook his head. "Run," Jack replied.

Ten grinned at Jack and flipped the lever. As the TARDIS dematerialized, they both grabbed the nearest railing. "Allons-y!" they cried in unison.

THE END

**Well gang, it's been fun. Hope you all enjoyed this, my first completed fanfic.**


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